Inspection instrument



y 6, 1967 c. R. BOWLAND 3,320,414

INSPECTION INSTRUMENT Filed June 17, 1964 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,320,414 INSPECTION INSTRUMENT Charles R. Rowland, 9 Oakdale Road, Spring Valley, Ill. 61362 Filed June 17, 1964, Ser. No. 375,741 1 Claim. (Cl. 2404.2)

My invention relates to optical instruments and more particularly to combination lighting and reflecting instruments.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mirror and flashlight combination instrument in which the electric bulb of the flashlight is disposed in close proximity to and slightly overlying the mirror of the instrument, so that the object to be viewed may be illuminated from the light bulb and viewed through the mirror disposed closely adjacent to the object.

The invention consists of the novel constructions, arrangements and devices to be hereinafter described and claimed for carrying outthe above-stated objects, and such other objects as will be apparent from the following description of a preferred form of the invention, illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an end view of a combination mirror and flashlight instrument comprising a main body holding the mirror and flashlight, a cap disposed on the lower end of the body, an electric light bulb protruding from the body, and a battery and an electric conductor disposed internally within the body;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the instrument, with the cap being removed for better illustrating the lower end of the main body;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the instrument;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the light bulb and the electric conductor and battery housed within the instrument; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the cap.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several views.

Referring now to the drawing, the illustrated instrument may be seen to comprise, in general, a flashlight 10 and a mirror 11. The flashlight and mirror have a common housing 12 which has a relatively flat, round terminal portion 12a on one end and a tubular terminal portion 12b on the other end.

The housing portion 12a is provided with a round, shallow recess 13; and a round mirror 14 is disposed in the recess 13.

The housing portion 1211 has a cylindrical cavity 15 formed within it, and a battery 16 is disposed within the cavity 15. The battery 16 has the usual plus, boss-like terminal 16a on its upper end and has the usual minus terminal 16b, which is in the form of a flat plate, on the lower end of the battery.

The cylindrical housing portion 12b is provided with a thread 17 on its lower end, and a cap 18 fits on the lower end of the housing portion 12b and is provided with an internal thread 19 by means of which the cap 18 may be screwed on to the lower end of the housing 12.

The cylindrical cavity 15 is connected with a cylindrical cavity 21 formed in the housing 12, which opens at the edge of the mirror 14. The cavity 21 is smaller in diameter than the cavity 15, and an annular lip or shoulder 22 overhangs the cavity 21. A flashlight bulb 23 is provided within the cavity 21. The bulb 23 is of the conventional pen light type and has a pointed glass tip 23a which extends through the annular shoulder 22. The bulb 23 is also provided with the usual tubular threaded base terminal 23b, which has a diameter about the same as the ice lowermost, largest diameter portion of the tip 23a; and the bulb 23 is also provided with the usual lower bosslike terminal 230. The tip 23a extends through the annular shoulder 22 to slightly overhang the mirror 14; and, since the tip 23a decreases in cross section toward its end, the shoulder 22 prevents movement of the bulb 23 outwardly from the cavity 21.

A conductor 24 in the form of a Wire is provided for connecting the lower terminal 16b of the battery 16 with the terminal 23b of the bulb 23. The conductor 24 comprises a lower end portion 24:: bent in the form of a flat helix, anend portion 24b bent in the form of a cylindrical helix of just the right diameter and spacing of convolutions so that the threads of the terminal 23b, of the bulb match and fit the conductor portion 24b, and an intermediate conductor portion 240, which is also in helical form but is larger in diameter than the portion 24b, and has substantially the same diameter as the battery 16. The battery 16 is somewhat smaller in diameter than the cavity 15; and the conductor 24 extends from the bulb 23 downwardly through the cavity 15 along sideof the battery 116, so that the lower helical portion 24:: of the conductor rests beneath the flat battery terminal 16b.

The helical portion 240 of the conductor 24 is normally somewhat elongated, so that if the cap 18 is not threaded completely on to the thread 17, the plus terminal 16a of the battery 16 is spaced from the terminal 230 of the bulb 23. An electric circuit, therefore, is not complete through the bulb 23, and it is not lighted. The battery 16 may be held between the lowermost /2 convolutions of the helical wire portion 240 and the flat helical portion 24a of the conductor 24. When the cap 18 is screwed completely on to the cylindrical housing portion 12b, the helical portion 24c of the conductor 24 is compressed, and the battery terminal 16a is moved into contact with the bulb terminal 230 so as to complete the electric circuit through the bulb and cause the bulb to light. In order to obtain this result, the conductor 24 has some inherent resilience so that compression of the helical portion 240 is not permanent, and the conductor 24 springs back into its initial condition holding the bulb terminal 23c out of contact with the battery terminal 16a until the cap 18 is retightened on the housing 12.

The housing 12 may be of any suitable insulating material such as a plastic, and the mirror :14 may be of the usual glass type, although the mirror may also, if desired, be made of metal. It will be noted that the bulb 23 overlies only a small marginal portion of the mirror 14; the bulb 23, for example, may project about A" across the mirror. The instrument may, of course, be made in many different sizes; however, a very suitable size has been found untilizing a mirror of about 2" diameter and utilizing a housing portion 12b of about 2%" length.

In order to use the instrument, it is only necessary to tighten the cap 18 on the lower housing port-ion 12b so as to move the terminals 16a and 23c together to cause the bulb 23 to light. The instrument may then be used to light overhanging portions, such as the edge of a table, for example, that would otherwise be inaccessible; and the overhanging portions may then be examined utilizing the mirror which will provide a reflected image of the lower surfaces of the overhanging portions as lighted from the bulb 23. The instrument also is useful, for example, as a device for examining the face, such as the lips. The bulb 23 illuminates the lips so they are visible to the user as the user looks into the mirror positioned in front of the face, so that lipstick, for example, may be applied.

I wish it to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, except only insofar as the claim 3 may be so limited, as it will be understood to those skilled in the art that changes may be made without departing from the principles of the invention.

1 claim:

In a mirror-flashlight instrument, the combination of a housing of electrically insulating material having a tubular portion joined at one end to a flat portion which extends in substantially the same direction as the axis of the tubular portion, a mirror fixed on and carried by said fiat portion, a light bulb extending from and through said end of said tubular housing portion and overlying said mirror and said tubular housing :portion having an inwardly extending lip: at this end of the tubular housing portion extending inwardly over a portion of said bulb and holding the bulb from movement farther out of said tubular portion over said mirror, said bulb having a threaded tubular terminal extending around it and having a second boss-like terminal both of which are located in said tubular housing portion, a battery Within said tubular housing portion and having a boss-like terminal on one end located adjacent the boss-like terminal on said bulb and having a terminal on its other end in the form of a plate, an electric conductor of yieldable wire which is in the form of a helix on one end wound into the threads of said tubular terminal and which extends through said tubular housing portion at the side of said battery to said other end of the battery and said conductor at its other end being in the form of a flat and radially inwardly extending coil disposed beneath the plate-like terminal of said battery, said helical portion of said conductor having a plurality of oonvolutions between said tubular terminal of said bulb and the end surface of said battery surrounding said boss-like terminal of said battery and resting on said end surface so as to normally hold said boss-like terminals apart when said flat coil portion of said conductor is in contact with said plate-like terminal of said battery, and a cap threadedly disposed on the end of said tubular housing portion remote from said bulb for moving said boss-like terminals of said bulb and said battery together against the spring action of said helical portion of said conductor for completing an electric circuit through said battery and bulb when the cap is tightened on said tubular housing portion.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,216,724 2/1917 Petrie 240-4.2 2,651,710 9/1953 Clark 240-10.61 X 2,727,981 12/1955 Carpenter 240-1066 X FOREIGN PATENTS 1,038,015 5/1953 France. 1,049,951 8/ 1953 France. 480,692 5/ 1953 Italy.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

C. C. LOGAN, Assistant Examiner. 

